Full Tilt lawyers seek withdrawal from class action

Jeff Ifrah (pictured) and David Deitch, the lawyers representing eight ‘Team Full Tilt’ players in their ongoing class action lawsuit, have filed a motion for leave to withdraw as attorneys of record with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The decision comes at an interesting time, with Ifrah and Deitch (both partners at Ifrah PLLC) having previously filed a motion to dismiss the eight pros ““ plus five companies affiliated to Full Tilt ““ from the 30 June suit. That motion has yet to be acted upon by the court, and Ifrah has told eGaming Review that a decision is unlikely before October.

Dated 31 August, their motion states that: “[C]ontinued representation of Defendants would create unreasonable difficulty for us to carry out our employment effectively and would result in an unreasonable financial burden to our law firm.”

However, Washington DC-based Ifrah told eGaming Review that neither the overhanging federal indictments, nor the new class action brought last month by Canadian poker players Zayn Jetha and Donald Whelan, had any bearing on his and Deitch’s decision this week.

Earlier this week Ifrah responded to players’ questions on the Two Plus Two poker forums, and his activity was followed by a second official Full Tilt statement in the month of August.

The operator confirmed in that statement that a number of investors were still in discussions regarding a multi-million dollar takeover, although bwin.party co-CEO Jim Ryan revealed on Wednesday that his company was not one of those looking at investing in Full Tilt Poker.

Full Tilt’s hearing in front of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) is still scheduled to resume on 15 September, however no details of the venue or start-time have been provided by the regulator.

A spokesperson for the AGCC told eGaming Review today that further information about the hearing is likely to emerge next week.